Speeding up relief, recovery and reconstruction in post-war Gaza

Transcription

1 UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR ON ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE Speeding up relief, recovery and reconstruction in post-war Gaza PLENARY II: Resolving Gaza s critical water crisis United Nations Office at Vienna, 1 April 2015 June Kunugi Special Representative United Nations Children s Fund Jerusalem

2 Presentation outline 1. Situation overview 2. Fragility of systems & capacity to respond to emergencies 3. Conflict-related damages and impacts 4. Humanitarian WASH priorities 5. Linking relief, rehabilitation & development 6. Priorities and key actions

3

4 Situation overview: Gaza De-development Gaza residents rely almost entirely on groundwater from its coastal aquifer, both for agriculture & domestic municipal use. 95% of groundwater not fit to drink without treatment Approx. 200 MCM pumped / year from aquifer, though annual sustainable yield 50 MCM. Additionally, 4.7 MCM imported from Israel; 0.4 MCM produced through desalination Wastewater treatment systems overloaded / insufficiently powered; 90 million litres of partially / untreated sewage => into sea daily Cycles of conflict and disasters have required PWA & CMWU to shift funds for development and operations to crisis response Low utility payment rates (<30% after 2014 war) insufficient to cover USD 30 million annual operation & maintenance costs Challenges compounded by energy crisis 4

5 Contingency Planning and Response Fragility of systems negatively impacts ability to prepare for and respond to emergencies in terms of: Repairs and maintenance Infrastructure Staff readiness Management CMWU-installed mobile pump to drain flooded homes following winter storms in Gaza, January CMWU

6 2014 Gaza conflict WASH damages & impact USD 33 millioninfrastructure damages USD 94 million losses to sector incl. due to higher operational costs Damages and reduction of electrical supply -> covers 33% of demand Damages to water/sanitation infrastructure (93% of reservoirs damaged in 3km border area, 61% of the wells, networks) -> access to water & sanitation reduced, nil in some areas System efficiency reduced from 65% to 58%; non-revenue water increased by 7%, i.e. 18,000 m 3 /day lost through leakage from pipes

7 Humanitarian WASH priorities in Gaza Protection of vulnerable communities and IDPs throughappropriate WASH services for survival and to maintain public health Ensure accessto safe water and sanitation Ensure delivery of fuel, chlorine, spare partsand other items required for essential WASH services Enhance local capacityin coordination, preparedness, emergency response, & information management Advocacyon key water and sanitation issues related to the longstanding blockade compounded by the recent conflict

8 Gaza emergency progress Some Progress UNRWA through IDB donation secured emergency fuel for 2015 With assistance from WASH cluster partners and donors, CMWU completed fast-track emergency repairs of conflictrelated water and sanitation infrastructure damages Donors pledged/committed to repair war-related water and sanitation damages. $11M in repairs of WASH damages remaining No major flood risk due to effective 2014/2015 winter preparedness and response plan

9 Gaza emergency concerns Constraints and Concerns Delay in Gaza reconstruction will lead to further deterioration in the WASH sector despite emergency preparedness & response efforts 120,000 people (war-affected communities, IDPs/host families) dependent on water tankers since August. Water consumption dropped from 80 to liters/capita/day across Gaza Current energy supply insufficient to operate 281 WASH facilities Delayed entry of materials and restricted import of construction materials & spare parts impedes maintenance of existing WASH facilities, development of new infrastructure Lack of funding a major challenge, including for humanitarian WASH coordination

10 Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Comparative Study of Options (CSO), Gaza 2011

11 WASH sector recovery vision & principles Recovery & reconstruction should be in line with the long-term vision for Gaza; build on progress and successes already achieved 3 of 6 keystone infrastructure development projects identified in the NERRP are in WASH sector (i) large-scale desalination plant; (ii) north-south carrier; (iii) additional wastewater treatment plants Key guiding principles: Ensure destroyed water supply networks are rebuilt to new specifications that will accommodate increased flows Highest priority & funding should be for activities that expand and develop alternatives to aquifer abstraction Ensure coordination (incl. energy, housing) with other sectors & prioritize needs across sectors Ensure support to developing long-term capacity of PWA

12 WASH Priorities & key actions Key actions Resources and advocacy needed Immediate, urgent repairs $11M Repair war-related WASH damages Humanitarian response $26M Gaza WASH Sector Response Plan (SRP) for 2015 Expand 2 STLV desalination plants $40Mto cover the gap for expansion of 2 STLV plants (13 MCM per year) Regional desalination and $466M total cost; $245.5M pledged; $5.5M committed. associated work (55 MCM/year) Gap: $217M Resumeservice delivery and $109M to provide temporary WASH services to affected access to goods and services communities, and temporary WASH services for IDPs Waste water treatment integrated $226M total cost; $174M committed. Gap: $52M into wastewater re-use Required to initiate waste water re-use pilot Operational & maintenance costs $30M per year. Gap: $18M per year Import of construction materials Advocacy required to ease entry restrictions & spare parts Movement of staff and experts Advocacy required to ease entry restrictions Import additional water from Pipeline in place. Israel announcedthey will supply 10 Israel (16 MCM/year) MCM/year, but receiving reservoir needs to be rebuilt

13 The cost of inaction: Gaza in Aquifer is irreversibly damaged 2. No water resource is available 3. Serious public health risks 4. No food security (very limited agricultural activities) Gaza Population Livelihood Threatened